Thursday 5 January 2012

Help My Disney Dream Come True


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You can vote ONCE A DAY EVERYDAY
until 11:59pm 11th Jan 2012

What with running my own business, organising a wedding, helping with theatre productions and all the other crazy stuff that went on last year my poor blog suffered greatly. 2012 and I am glad to say the wedding was a great success, the business is doing well and even though I am only 5 days in to 2012 I haven't (touch wood) worked through the night... yet! Now the dust is starting to settle I am looking for my next adventure, which has come in the form of DisneyBrit Idol. It is a competition to become a new presenter on their show. I have known the guys for a few years now and helped out with bits of design etc and they are a great bunch. Sadly one of them is leaving the group and they are now looking to fill his shoes.

For those of you who don't know me here is a quick info hit about my life and Disney journey so far:

I was born with Disney way back in 1984 and having American relatives was a huge bonus, I remember my grandfather going out there to visit and bringing me back all kinds of amazing things from Walt Disney World in Florida. The little Mermaid was my 1st great Disney love and Ariel is firm favourite as my Disney Princess of choice and inspired my love of swimming from a very early age. I remember saving up my pocket money for months and months to purchase the VHS having seen it previously in the cinema which at 5 years old was quite an achievement. 22 years later and I still have the VHS in mint condition... well the box at least, I must have played the tape a million times so I guess that is probably a bit shaky by today's standards!

Then the 90's hailed a great era for Disney with unbeatable soundtracks which sparked my love of singing leading to an amateur career in musical theatre (which I am currently rebuilding). The 1st song I sung on a theatre stage was "When you wish upon a star" in my nightie so I was destined for Disney from the very beginning.

I am lucky enough to have an artistic mother and have picked up her talent for drawing and I have spent years drawing the Disney character some more successfully then others! (Every time we hit a Disney park and there is animation class going mum and I just have to take part!) Some of my Disney art still exists online this was done a few years ago in my water colour phase.

When studying to pass my 11+ (an exam english children take to get in to grammar school) my parent promised if I passed we'd go to Disney World. I worked extra hard so I could finally visit the place I had heard so much about. I did indeed pass but it wasn't until I was 17 that I eventually got to go, my parents kept their promise the catch in the original agreement was that they didn't say when they would take me ;) It was definitely worth the wait and words don't begin to describe how amazing it was. As part of the holiday we spent 7 days in the park and 7 days on the Disney Cruise on the Magic, it was tough trying to cram everything in and we barely scratched the surface. As we left I just knew I had to go back!

Unfortunately I had to wait 6 years (2007) to return but it was worth the wait having just finished uni a 14 day trip with Mum, Dad & Joe (my now husband) was the perfect way to celebrate and reignited my passion for the parks in a huge way. This time I was old enough to appreciate all the little design details driving my family nuts with trivia as we walked round the park with the help of my newly purchased "Pal Mickey" who still comes with us every trip. We visited again 2008 and 2009 then unfortunately my father became very ill and the wedding trip to Disney we all planned for 2010 had to be postponed. With a lot of Pixie Dust Dad made a miraculous recovery and was determined to walk me down the aisle at Disney (apparently something I had been going on about since 5 yrs old and again at 17 when I saw all the wedding transport on display at the Grand Floridian!).

Planning the Disney wedding was crazy... originally we had planned it for the wedding pavilion but lots of friends and family who said they could make it were no longer able to attend for various reasons which was really sad and did hit home on the day a little more then I thought it would! Disney Fairytale Weddings were quite helpful but given the time difference etc it was hard to get hold of them or they would call at bizarre times. Then all the hidden extras we had to sort and pay for  caused a few panics. But like any good fairytale it had a happy ending. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.

We got married at Luau Beach at Disney's Polynesian Resort with the Castle in the background, followed by a lovely photoshoot and the reception dinner at the Aloha Dinner show. To end the night we treated out guests to a Firework cruise and tour of the seven seas lagoon. Our skipper was great showing us some amazing things like the abandoned River Country water park which looked so eerire in the pitch black and very importantly the legendary shoe tree!

A few days after the wedding we had a photoshoot at Disney's Hollywood Studios before the guest were allowed in. It was so fun being there with no one around and going into all the cast member areas. They had prepared the Tower of Terror ready for our shoot removing all the queuing ropes and poles. It looked just like a film set and our photographers made us feel like film stars.

All too soon it was time to say goodbye to Disney World and go home.... where luckily the Disney Magic continued with the UK wedding reception. I really wanted my guests to experience the magic of Disney and the extra mile Disney go to make their guests feel special and from the  feedback we have received I think we pulled it off despite some last minute traumas. Every table had a different theme based on a Disney movie. Each one was unique, it was so fun to watch the guests going over to the other tables to see what they looked like and was a great ice breaker getting people chatting away in no time. More on the reception and wedding another time, hope to write up a proper account of the whole thing start to finish soon.

I have been lucky enough to see Disney world, Disneyland Paris (my home away from home... home being Disney World!) and this year will travel to California to the place it all began Disneyland. I find Walt Disney a huge inspiration and his tireless effort to make things work in the face of adversity is such a valuable lesson which as a business owner I relate to greatly.

Other Disney Kez facts:

Favourite Character:
Tigger - (Due to an amusing encounter when I was 17 which I may talk about if I get to be a team member on the DisneyBrit)
Stitch - Joe's first present to me before we were going out was a large stitch plush for Valentine's day. Every year since without fail he always get's me something Stitch. So you could say he is our family favourite

Favourite Park (WDW): Hollywood Studios - This holds dear memories for mum and I and one of my favourite restaurants!

Favourtite Ride - Tower of Terror (WDW version) The imagineering of this ride is so well done it totally transports you to another... well... dimension ;)



I cosplay (japanese art of creating and wearing costumes of fictional characters) as the Disney Princesses at events for fun,  for promotional purposes and for photoshoots. It is always lovely when a child (or even grown up!) comes up and interacts with me. It is so great to be able to be that princess even just for a day and bring a smile to someone's face.

I collect and trade Disney pins and more recently Disney Vinylmation as well as Disney art and books, dvds and Jim Shore figures (my most recent being  musical Ariel Figurine given to me just before we left for the wedding trip which literally had me in tears)



Most of my friends think I am like a Disney Princess come to life (think Giselle from Enchanted)
Like Ariel no matter the obstacle I strive to make the impossible dream come true,
Like Belle I am strong willed and love to read,
Like Pocahontas I fight for justice and for people who are being mistreated
Like Jasmine I dream of magic carpets and exploring the world
Like Snow White I dream my prince will come... hang on I think this one can be ticked off (The ironic and apparently unplanned thing was "One Day My Prince Will Come" from Snow White was playing when Joe proposed!)
Anyway as you can see the princesses and I share a lot of great qualities and I think they are excellent role models for the young girls of today!

I think that is about it and have probably bored you with enough details but have plenty left to share if I make it through to the show and become the DisneyBrit Idol Princess!

Please vote for me at this link http://disneybrit.com/2012/01/vote-now-for-your-disneybrit-idol/
KEZ FRANCIS is the name you are looking for, help my dream come true.

I'll leave you with a few pics of some of my fondest Disney memories

Thanks for you support and have a magical day <3 xxx




#VOTE4KEZ

Tuesday 19 April 2011

New Pirates of the Caribbean Meet and Greet

With the latest installment of POTC 4 just around the corner a new member joins the crew in adventureland for character meet and greets and this time it's a girl!

Angelica (Played by Penelope Cruz in the film) is the daughter of the legendary Blackbeard, and her skills are said to rival only those of our beloved Jack Sparrow. Join her daily opposite the Pirates League in Adventureland, who knows you might get picked to join her crew argh!

   
(c) Disney
More Pirate related news, Annie Leibovitz has created new portraits of Captain Jack in her latest set of photos which are absolutely stunning!


(c) Annie Leibovitz & Disney
 

Monday 18 October 2010

Disney's Beauty & The Beast comes to Southborough

This Disney Classic and West End spectacular is now coming to Southborough's Royal Victoria Hall in Kent. So if you are wondering what to do with the children this half term or fancy an enchanting evening at the theatre with friends and family come and see Beauty & The Beast.

The performances are as follows:
Tues: 7.30pm
Wed: 2.30 & 7.30pm
Thurs: 7.30pm
Fri: 7.30pm
Sat: 2.30 & 7.30pm

Tickets: £12 (concessions for children & OAPs available)

Don't miss out on the Disney magic
Book today 0845 241 2573

Thursday 14 October 2010

Disney World Bus Driver Gets Attacked

I was really saddened to see this horrific incident involving a disgruntaled guest and a poor Disney bus driver. The man in question attempts to strangle the bus driver when he has been told that there is no more room on the bus and he will call another one to pick up the remaining guest shortly. The man apparently thought he had priority over the other guest as he has a small baby (which at one point he threw at the bus driver...)
 
After this incident occurred the man's wife tried to hide in the crowd but was outed by the public, both were then taken backstage where the man was arrested on the grounds of assaulting the driver he is also facing charges of terrorism threat as the incident happened on public transport and public endangerment. The couple were ejected from the resort they were staying at and have been banned from Walt Disney World property! The bus driver was a real trooper and finished his shift that night, he is doing fine and rightly so Disney have not taken action against him as he was acting in self defense.

Wonderful Bus Drivers
I would like to take a moment to tell you a wonderful story that happened in late August 2008 to my family. The 4 of us were the only ones heading over from the Caribbean Beach Resort to Typhoon Lagoon, after checking my family all had their key to the world cards before we left the room it wasn't until we were half way to the stop off at Downtown Disney that I had the sick feeling I had forgotten my card. We asked the bus driver what the quickest way would be to get back from the water park to the hotel and he told us return buses don't start running for another 2 hours... Nobody was waiting at DTD so he said stay on the bus as his shift was ending now. Then he switched the sign off and said he would drive us back to get my card then drop us off at the water park. Even more remarkable he asked what block number we were and he parked as close as possible next to the building, we thought he would drop us at a bus stop. Needless to say we gave him a nice fat tip and loads of gushing thank yous, it was at that very moment my dad clicked at what true Disney magic is and we always recall this tale when telling people how great Disney World is. If you have any great bus stories to tell we'd love to hear from you

Wednesday 22 September 2010

Hotel Santa Fe at Disneyland Paris gets a cars make over

There have been many sightings on forums recently of Car's theming starting to appear at the Santa Fe hotel at DLRP. The Clint Eastwood drive-in movie screen now has a Cars overlay and the bed comforters have been converted to Car's ones.
It will be interesting to see how far this theming goes...

Terrorific Night 2 - Coming to Walt Disney Studios Paris

This event which debut in 2008 is making a triumphant return this year after been absent last year due to construction works for Toy Story Playland. Terrorific Night is adult orientated event with an age warning of 12 years + so you can expect something a little more intense then the sugar coated fun of Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween which is available at the Disneyland Parc for those of a more nervous disposition.

This video from 2008 shows live actors being incorporated into the rides like the Backstage Tour, live entertainment like Guitarists and Fire Eaters they even have their own dance parties with the demon barber... looks like DJ Stitch has some tough competition.

 


Disneyland Paris posted this interesting video of what guest can expect from this years events on their YouTube page yesterday...

(c) Disney

The only place I have found to book these tickets is through this site http://www.ticketnet.fr/shop/en/manif.asp?idmanif=205328&idtier=139955 as oddly enough they are not on the ticket booking section of the DLP site for UK viewers, but maybe closer to the date they will get added as well. Unfortunately I am unable to attend this event as I am performing in a production of Beauty and the Beast so if you or anyone you know is going I would love to hear from  you.

Monday 13 September 2010

New Disney Radio Show from some familiar faces


My Friends from the DisneyBrit Podcast have joint forces with Nick to produce a brand new show covering all aspects of Disney from the Parks and Resorts of Walt Disney World to collectibles and Disney Company news.

Destination Disney is live on the radio in Central Florida every Friday night from 6pm - 7pm (11pm-12am) on 1410 in Leesburg and 1580 in Orlando. And are replayed Saturday morning from 7am - 8am and Sunday from 6am - 7am (12 - 1am).

Don't worry if you miss it you can listen to it on their website http://www.destinationd.info and hopefully soon it will be appearing on itunes as a podcast for you to download.

Don't forget to also subscribe to the DisneyBrit podcast http://www.disneybrit.com/ on itunes a great show released every 2 weeks featuring lots of interesting information about the Parks (including Disneyland Paris), trivia and reviews. Essential listening for anyone travelling to Walt Disney World or fans of anything Disney!